About 20 people recently camped outside Hong Kong’s Star Ferry Pier to get their hands on limited edition toys, debunking claims the group were mainland Chinese tourists reluctant to fork out for hotel rooms.
The misunderstanding emerged from a Facebook post on Saturday that claimed the iconic pier had become a place for mainlanders to sleep rough. Images circulating online showed the group laying on cardboard mats with their belongings outside the closed pier.
A Post reporter travelled to the pier in Tsim Sha Tsui and the nearby Hong Kong Cultural Centre that night, but discovered no signs of anyone camping at either location.
A Star Ferry employee said those earlier seen camping out were waiting to buy limited edition toys.
Pop Mart Hong Kong on May 31 rolled out sales of limited edition CRYBABY dolls with lamps and blind boxes. A store branch is located at LCX in Harbour City, a busy shopping centre right next to the pier.
Some local media outlets earlier picked up the story and claimed the group were mainland tourists, quoting a newspaper stand owner who said he had seen people camping at the spot for the past few days and leaving each morning.
The vendor speculated that the group were “probably mainland visitors”, hoping to redeem vouchers or take advantage of various discounts.
Facebook users reacting to the post claimed the sleepers were having a “new travel experience” and “there may not be a need to stay in hotels when travelling to Hong Kong in the future”.
The social media user behind the Facebook images has yet to update their post.
The Tsim Sha Tsui harbourfront, which spans the Star Ferry Pier and the Avenue of Stars, is one of the most sought-after travel destinations on Instagram-like mainland social media platform Xiaohongshu, or “Little Red Book” in English.
Saturday’s Facebook post once again brought the subject of shifting tourism trends into the spotlight, with many mainland visitors opting for shorter trips and focusing on experiences over shopping following the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Hong Kong Tourism Board figures showed that each overnight visitor in 2019 spent an average of HK$5,818 (US$744) and day-trip tourists HK$2,004.
While the per capita spending by overnight visitors increased 18.6 per cent to HK$6,900 in 2023, the amount spent by single-day trippers contracted by 35.1 per cent to HK$1,300.
